The Price Of Dentures

aloise

I paid £250 fot a top set of nhs teeth. They are horrible and loose.They are like tombstones whereas my own were small and dainty.(they were my best feature, my only good one really )I told the dentist i wasn't happy and even took a photo of me so she could see how small my original ones were.Although she should as i have been going to her for 6 years and she took the originals out. Didn't want to know.I had to pay another 49 to have the teeth relined and they are still not right. Will not show my teeth now when i smile.

Dizzy_Ditzy

thevicster wrote: »

To be fair to the NHS, I have two top teeth on a plate and they are very good! And also these are temporary ones! Very impressed. On the other hand I've never seen privately made ones so couldn't really comment. I guess judging by comments I may have been lucky.

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but could someone give me the pros and cons of NHS bridges? My dentist gave me this as an option to my current dentures but I've heard they are suspectible to breaking?

I agree with this one- i have 3 teeth on an upper denture and i couldnt be happier with the way i look.

I am looking into implants now rather than bridges as i did some research and came across the same thing. The bridges will only be as good as the neighbouring teeth holding the bridge. It all depends on how good the teeth that the bridge will be anchored to are.

BTW I paid £198 for them

bibblebobble

I have dentures (£198 NHS)...I was told to wear them to bed every night for 2 weeks so make them fit properly...they hurt like hell, took them back and he filed them a bit...still hurt like hell, wobble around, food gets under them, they dig into the roof of my mouth...horrendous. I can't wear them as the uncomfortable sensations are overwhelming and all I can think about is my mouth. I'm not sure what else I can do reallly?

brook2jack

We were never designed to wear great big bits of plastic and metal in our mouths and the fact that some people can is because they adapt. Wearing a denture is like riding a bicycle you need to train the muscles to hold the denture in place.

Is this a new denture or have you worn one before? If you've worn one before with no problems return to the dentist to have denture adjusted. If not worn one before try wearing for half an hour a day then build up your time.Dentures placed just after teeth taking out need multiple adjustments,relinings and replacement when gums have finished healing.

Some people never get used to wearing dentures (particularly lowers) and their only options are possibly bridges or implants.

welshdent

In addition to what brook said, often many will vent frustration at the dentist who "made" them when they have problems. In reality I find it is the biggest aspect of dentistry that I have very little control over. When I do a root filling or a normal filling it is the skills of myself and the compliance of the patient that will usually net the result barring unforseen events. With dentures I will take an impression which is then sent to a lab who have someone to pour it up in to plaster then someone else may trim the model to make it workable. Then someone else may prepare the accurate special trays and bite recording blocks.. I then get it back and record some measurements and then take a better impression. After that someone else will pour up the new impression and construct a trial denture using a variety of plastic teeth and techniques etc. If its right for the patient it goes to finish ... which may be done by someone else as part of a batch of 20. There are so many opportunities for errors to enter the equation very few are the fault of the dentist yet it is the dentist that has to face the wrath of many of you. Add to that the necessity for the wearer to be able to grow accustomed to wearing them. Personally I hate making the damn things

Toothsmith

A couple of weeks ago I had a patient in who was in her late 30s.

Not been to the dentist since she was 18 when her upper teeth were removed and a 'temporary' denture put in.

That denture, now 20ish yrs old was as thin as tissue paper, broken into 2 pieces, and teeth worn flat.

Mouth was quite a mess from the fact that the dentures 'didn't fit' at all.

The muscle control necessary to keep 2 bits of denture in, and chew and talk must have been phenomenal!! But she did, and felt the fit was 'all right' although she realised she'd need some new ones.

What's the betting that my new ones are going to feel horrendous and cause her all sorts of problems!!

welshdent

Rather you than me!! I had to make a set of c/c for a chap who had never worn dentures ever and was in his 60s. I had 5 re trys before we even vaguely go close to a decent result. Hate the damn things ... even the single tooth 12 UDA ones

coldstreamalways

Good luck with that one toothsmith:eek:

I haven't made a full denture since my VT year so I feel that may be a steep learning curve one day.... having said that I did about 30 in that year and some of my colleagues have NEVER made a set of full fulls.

They are exceptionally difficult, dentures (I'm probably quoting someone from here) aren't an alternative to teeth, they are an alternative to "No teeth".

bibblebobble

Don't worry, I wouldn't have a pop at the dentist, I am a polite person! He has been very good actually, when I first started going to see him I had to have Diazepam, each time I went I lowered the dose a bit, and now I have been twice without it. I still get a lurching feeling inside when I walk into the waiting room and that smell hits me. As a child I was allowed a lot of suger, hence my first memorable experience of the dentist at 4 years old was having a gas mask put on my face and then what seemed like lots of blood coming out of my mouth and lots of holes inside it. I had to be held down in the chair and I was frozen in an upright position, when they held me down my legs went up lol. I can laugh now but I was petrified then and it's had a lasting effect. Unfortunately that sweet tooth is what has lead to losing too many teeth and now to dentures. Personally, tooth decay/changes is quite psychological...it's quite tied up in self image. I always notice other people's teeth!

Anyway, the dentures, there are only two teeth on them but they seem lopsided. I went to the dentist for a check-up and mentioned them, he's altered them and said we will just keep trying until they're right...they are better, but there's a gap between the tooth and the gum on one side (viewed in the mirror) and the back edge of the palate presses in too much and leaves a painful ridge in the skin.I know I can't eat with them as it's too painful. I'll try wearing them for half hour a day until I go back in April.

arunadasi

I got my first dentures yeasterday.
My history: I've had a bridge of seven teeth for over 30 years, ever since I lost three upper front teeth due to a fall. A couple years ago I was told one of the teeth holding the bridge was rotting and I should get implants.
I've been given different estimates for implants ranging from £6000 to £15000. I've been delaying treatment since this time; not only could I not imagine how to afford that (though I do get 70% paid through my German health care plan) I also had to get gum disease treated.
Meanwhile the bridge was looking horrible, with a small gap between teeth and gums.

Finally I went for the temporary denture, at least for the time being. As I am "only" 58 I was very worried about this and a bit scared.

My dentist's estimate for splitting the bridge, three extractions and "provision of a temporary plastic partial upper denture and after care" would be £385 plus lab fees.

I put in a claim with my insurance company (not the German one) and they said they'd pay for 3 extractions and max. two teeth at £125 per tooth.

A week ago I had the moulds made for the dentures and paid £345 lab costs.
Yesterday I paid the dentist £145. I'm still not sure what money went where and whatI have paid for and what not to date.
I figure I should get the whole amount back from the German service together with the insurance.

Anyway, I'm delighted with the denture (6 teeth!). It fits perfectly and looks much better than the bridge; they are better shaped and the gap to the gums is gone. I think I might stick with dentures instead of with impants (Advice here welcome!). I'm aware that a permanent denture will go in in six month's time.

Of course I look a fright when I take them out to clean but I'm not vain at all, am I!
And the roof of my mouth feels very strange against my tongue. And my sense of taste is definitely diminished.